Agricultural implement



C. J. ALLEN AND J. MADER.

AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 26. 1920.

v Patented May 30, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

$56,029 Ma def. By 34%; z zavfiw ATTORNEYS WITNESS C. J. ALLEN AND 1. MADER.

AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT.

APPLICATION FILED MAILZB. 1920.

Patented May 30, 1922.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

A T'TORNE Y8 C. J. ALLEN AND J. MADER.

AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT.

INVENTORS Che/ 16,5 Jfl/le/a,

I I I (hawk/Wilde]? WITNESS I BY M M W r A TTORNEYS names stares rarest twi ter...

CHARLES J, ALLEN, OF MOORESTOWN. NEVI JERSEY, AND JOSEPH MADER, OF PHILA- DELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNORS TQS. L. ALLEN & (10., INC., A CORPORA- TION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT.

raiaoee.

Application fi1ed. MarcliZG, 192-0. Serial-No. 368,842.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES J. ALLEN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Moorestown, county of Burlington, and State of New Jersey, and Josnrrr Manna, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Agricultural Implements, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

Our invention relates to what are commonly known as garden tractors and more particularly to means for facilitating the use of such tractors in cultivating operations, in which it is found that in order to secure maximum efiiciency of operation it is requisite to frequently shift the cultivator teeth laterally with respect to the general line of travel of the tractor and also to raise and lower the teeth vertically to en able them to be withdrawn from and returned to the soil.

The ordinary garden tractorcomprises a frame supported on a pair of carrying wheels and serving to support a suitable motor or other means for delivering power to the wheels to propel them over the ground, the direction of travel being controlled through the medium of suitable steering handles by the operator who walks backof the machine, a suitable agricultural implement being arranged in the rear of the tractor to operate on the soil over which it passes, which implement in cultivating ope-ations may conveniently comprise a plurality of substantially vertically positioned blades arranged to engage the soil in the vicinity of the rows of plants to be cultivated.

Among the principal objects of our invention are to provide means whereby a lateral movement of the cultivator blades may be readily effected which shall be simple in construction. not liable to get out of order, and which may be conveniently and Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 30, 1922-.

erators hands when grasping the handles will be a natural and easy one, so that the implement may be operated for relatively long periods of time without undue strain or fatigue and in such manner that both lateral and vertical movement of the cultivator teeth as well as the steering of-the tractor maybe effected by a simple and natural movement of the operators hands and arms. Still further objects of the invention are to so arrange thevarious parts that they will be capable of suitable adjust ment for bringing the teeth into proper posi tion for cultivating rows of plants spaced at different widths and for positioning the teeth to effect any desired depth of engagement in the soil, and to provide means for effecting the foregoing objects which may be readily and conveniently adapted for use with different makes of garden tractors.

Our invention further includes all of the other various objects and novelfeatures of construction and arrangement hereinafter more particularly pointed out or described. In the accompanying drawings, we have illustrated a preferred embodiment of our invention and have shown the same in 'connection with a typical garden tractor, Fig. 1 being a side elevation; Fig. 2 a top plan view partially in fragmentary horizontal section; Fig. 3 a rear elevation; Fig. 4 an enlarged detailed view partially in section of a portion ofthedevice, and Figs. 5 and 6 respectively a fragmentary side elevation and a fragmentary rear elevation of (lifferent parts illustratingdetails thereof.

Prince the tractor itself mav .be of any suitable form, we have-illustrated the same diagrammatically, showing only the carrying wheels 2 and the hood- 3, beneath which. it will be understood, is located-the motor and suitable connections therefrom for rotating the wheels, the motor being supported on a suitable frame 4, to which is preferably removably, yet rigidly secured a rearwardly projecting casting 5. In the form of the invention shown, this casting comprises a pair of vertically positioned and forwardly projecting ears 7 secured to suitable rearwardly projecting lugs 8 integral with the frame by a transversely extending bolt or pin 9, the casting being also provided with a forwardly projecting and horizontally positioned car 11 overhanging a complementary lug 12 formed on the frame and secured thereto by a vertically extending'bolt 13, but it will. be understood that the means employed for fastening the casting 5 to the frame of the tractor will necessarily vary in accordance with the construction of the frame of the latter, and may therefore be modified as required with clifferent makes of tractors.

The casting 5 is provided with a downwardly and rearwardly extending arm 15 which is directed upwardly at'its rearward extremity to provide a boss 16 having a horizontally positioned, aperture extending therethrough for the reception of a pivot pin 17 secured in a boss 18 integral with and depending from a sleeve 20, preferablyrectangnlar in section and havinga square or polygonal central aperture suitable for the reception of the wheel bar 23' which extends transversely of the machine and preferably projects for a considerable distance laterally beyond the carrying wheels 2, so that the sleeve 20 is supported, and in turn supports, the bar 23 in the rear of the casting 5 in such manner that these parts are operatively, unitarily rotatable in a vertical plane on the pin 17 with respect to casting 5. Suitable set screws 25 are arranged to extend through the sleeve for the purpose of securing it in fixed operative relation with the bar.

Encircling the bar '28 and arranged to be adjustably positioned thereon at any desired point by set screws 27 or other suitable means are a pair of rearwardly extending yokeseach having a vertically extending boss 29 adapted to receive and support for vertical rotation therein a pin or kingbolt 30carryingat its lower extremity a forked normally rearwardly directed arm 31 which serves to support the transversely extending axle 32 on which a caster wheel 33 is arranged to revolve, the construction being such that each caster wheel is capable of movement in any direction'about the vertical axis of the king-bolt. Thus the caster wheels are free to follow irregularities of the ground in their movement thereover, the bar 23 rotating on its pivot to permit either wheel to rise or fall as may be necessary'for this purpose.

Also adjustably mounted upon the bar 23 are a pair of draft rod guides 35 which may be secured at any desired point thereon by set screws 36 and each of which comprises,

a forwardly extending portion having a longitudinally positioned slot 37 which is wider in longitudinal direction at the top than at the bottom, as best shown in Fig. l, and each of which is adapted to receive the forward upturned end of one of the draft rods 38. The rear upturned end of each of the draft rods extends through, and is rotatable in, a vertically positioned boss 39 of a hanger 4:0 adjustably clamped by set screws 11 to the transversely extending gang bar 43 which serves to support the cultivator blades 44, arranged to be'adjustably posi tioned at any desired. point on the gang bar by means of yokes a5 or in any other suitable manner as will be well understood by those familiar with the art. The upturned ends of each draft rod are adapted to receive the ends of a link 46 which rests on the upper surfaces of the boss 89 and guide 35. V

A pair of rearwardly diverging steering posts are provided and secured in any suitable manner to the casting 5 in such a as to maintain-the bars in rigid relative relation while permitting them to be-moved vertically with respect to the casting but not laterally with respect thereto. For so securing the bars the casting 5 may be conveniently provided with a pair of laterally spaced upwardly directed ears 50 adapted to cooperate with ears 51 formed on a casting 52 which is provided with rearwardly diverging sockets 53 for the reception of the forward ends of the steering posts 55, the casting 52 being secured in vertically mov able relation with the ears 50 by means of a belt or pin. 56 extending through the said ears and the ears 51. It will be understood that the steering posts are operatively rigidly secured in the sockets, and means may preferably be provided for yieldingly sup porting the weight of the posts which may comprise a bracket 58 integral with the casting 52 and projecting upwardly and outwardly substantially normal to the general direction of the sockets and provided with an aperture through which a bolt 59 pivoted in a lug 60 integral with the casting 5 is arranged to extend, the aperture being of sufficient size toafford some freedom of movement to the bolt. The outer end of the bolt is threaded for the reception of a flanged stop member 62 between which and,

the bracket 58'is positioned a coil spring 63.

the whole arrangement being such that the posts are yi'eldingly supported in a vertical plane through the medium of the spring and its attendant parts, the tension of the spring being readily adjustable by screwing member 62 in or out on the bolt.

Extending transversely of the steering posts and rigidly bolted or otherwise secured to clips 70 in turn secured to the posts are preferably a pair of substantially similar members 71, although a single member may be employed if desired, each of said members being conveniently formed from apiece of flat steel bar and adjacent each steering post extending in a substantially horizontal direction with its central portion between said horizontal portions substantially in the form of an upwardly directed blunt V, the apex of the V being approximately on the center line of the machine as best shown in Fig. 3. The exact shape and arrangement of these members, however, may be readily varied as desired. The members 71 are preferably spaced apart in longitudinal direction by suitable spacers and are provided with a plurality of apertures 7 3 adapted for the reception of hanger bolts 74:, from which depend the hanger rods 7 5 preferably adjustably connected by adjusting clips 76 with upwardly extending hanger" rods 77 provided with eyes 78 at their lower ex tremities adapted for the reception of horizontally positioned bolts 79 which extend through a pair of upwardly turned lugs 80 .on each of the hanger brackets 40, the arrangement of the various parts just clescribed being such that the gang bar 43 is adjustably suspended from the members 7 O which, in turn, are rigidly secured to the steering posts, so that when the latter are lifted the gang bar will move in correspondence therewith.

Each of the steering posts carries a rearwardly projecting handle 83 preferably formed in a shape to be conveniently grasped by the operator, and a rod 81 extending transversely through the ends of the posts, which are preferably provided with preferably substantially rectangular bosses 82, serves as a pivot for the handles 88 which are preferably inwardly offset and bent to bring the portions thereof through which the rod passes in a plane substantially normal to its general directionso that the handles may be moved upand down in a substantially vertical plane. A keeper 84 is preferably attached to each of the handles, extends forwardly adjacent the boss and is provided withan aperture through which the rod 81 extends, cotter pins 85 serving to hold the latter from lateralmovement, The handles extend forwardly from the rod and are directed inwardly and again forwardly so that their extremities 87 are substantially parallel with the center line of the machine, so as to pass conveniently through vertically disposed slots 88 formed adjacent the ends of a transversely extending member 90 which is positioned between the members 71 and pivoted to them at its center by a pivot bolt 91 passing through all of the said members. The slots 88 are of suflicient'width to permit a certain amount of movement of the parts 87 therein in a transverse direction, but are preferably of substantially the same height as the said parts which are thus con-, tained quite snuglybetween the upper-and lower edges of the slots, and the adjacent edges of parts 87 are preferably slightly rounded so as to readily slide within the slots. Depending from the member 90 is an arm 94- secured thereto in any convenient manner to effect its unitary movement therewith, and extending from the lower end of the arm 94 is a substantially transversely disposed link 95 connected with one of the bolts 79 in anyconvenient way to permit relativemovement between the parts. The

arm 94L may preferably be formed of two relatively vertical movable parts operatively secured in adjusted relation by adjusting clip 98 so that the arm may be lengthened or shortened as desired. I

lViththe various parts constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described, it will be'evident that the tractor may he guided by the operator in any desired direction by moving the handles 83 in a. substantially horizontal plane, assuming the cultivator blades to be engaged in the which serves to swing the member 90 about its pivot 91, which, under such conditions,

remains substantially stationary, and in turn, through the movement of the arm 9-1 to pull or push the gang bar through the medium of link 95 either to the right or left for a'distance depending on the amount of depression or elevation given to the handles, the lower end of arm 94 moving right or left as the case may be about its upper end as a substantially fixed center.

Furthermore, as the gang bar and its adjacent parts are suspended from the steering posts, the cultivator blades may be readily lifted out of the soil by mere y lifting on the handles the'draft rods in this operation moving forwardly in the slots 37, and as the various elements by which the gang bar is supported are preferably made adjustable, the bar maybe suspended. at any elevation requisite to effect; the cultivating operation in the most satisfactory manner, while by reason of the arrangement of the draft rods and links 4L6 the gang bar is at all times maintained substantially at right angles to the general direction of the row being cultivated even though thebar has been shifted laterally to cause it to follow any'slight deviation of the row or to move the blades out of contact with some obstruction inthe soil.

Means may be provided-for locking the member 90 to the members 71. in case it is at any time not desired to utilize the implement shifting mechanism, which means may conveniently consist of a pin 100 adapted for insertion through holes 101 in the mem bers 71 and a corresponding hole102 in the member 90, so that the pin when in position will lock the several members together and prevent any movement of member 90; The pin may be conveniently supported when not in use on a chain 103."

While we have herein. described with some particularity a preferred. embodiment of our invention and have illustrated the same in connection with a tractor having a pair of carrying wheels, we do not thereby desire or intend to limit ourselves to the precise details of arrangement and construction thereof which we have shown, as the same may be modified to meet-particular conditions or to adapt the invention for use with different makes of tractors, as well as those having a single or a plurality'of carrying wheels, as

may be desired, and varying types of blades or other implements may be employed with out'depa'rting from the spirit andscope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, we

claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States 1. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a frame and carrying wheels. therefor, of a pair of rearwardly diverging steering posts mounted for vertical movement on said frame, a gang bar carrying soil working implements, means for suspending said gang bar from said posts, and means comprising vertically moveable handles relatively moveable with respect to and supported by said posts, operative to shift said gang bar laterally.

2.-In a machine of the class described, the

combination with a frame and carrying wheels therefor, of a pair of rearwardly diverging steering posts, a gang bar, means for suspending said gang bar from said posts, a plurality of vertically moveable handles pivoted adjacent said posts, and means connecting said gang bar with said handles whereby the movement of saidhandles relatively to said posts-is operative to shift said gang bar laterally.

v In a machine of the class described, the

combination with. a frame and carrying posts, a ground working implement, means for suspending said implement from said posts, means for connect ng said frame with posts.

relation,

spect to said frame, a pair of steering handles supported by saidposts and vertically moveable with respect thereto, and means independent of saidpos'ts' interposed between said handles and said implement operative to effect a lateral movement of said implement in correspondence with the move ment of said handles with respeet to said 6. In a machine of the class described,

the combination with a frame and carrying wheels therefor, of a pair' of rearwardly di-" verging steering posts] in relatively rigid a ground "working lmplement, means for supportlng sald implement from .said posts, adraft bar extending rearwardly from said frame to saidimplement and moveable with respectto saidfr'ame and said implement, a steering handle supported'adjacent the endof each of said posts and moveable in a vertical plane 'with respect thereto, and means interposed between saidhandles and said implement operative to cause lateral shiftingof said implement in correspondence withthemovement of said handles. 1

7. In a machine of the class described the combination with a frame and carrying wheel supported therefrom, of a pair of rearwardly diverging steering posts mounted for vertical movement with respect to said frame, a ground workingimplement, draft means extending between said frame and said implement, handles moveable on a horizontal axis and extending rearwardly from said posts, and means independent ofsaid postsinterpo'sed between said handles and said implement for shifting said implement laterallyin correspondencewith the move ment of said handles.

8."In a machine of the class described, the combination with a frame, and carrying wheels, of a pair of rearwardly diverging steerin g posts in operatively rigid relation with each other, a ground working implement, draft means extending between said frame and said implement, a member secured to and extending transversely of said" posts, a member pivoted to said first "mentioned member and having a depending arm, a link extending between said arm and said implement, and means cooperative with said posts and moveable in a vertical plane operative to cause the actuation of said last mentioned member.

9. In a machine of the class described the combination with a frame, and carrying wheels, of a pair of rearwardly diverging relatively stationary steering posts mounted for vertical movement with respect to said frame, a ground working implement, draft means extending between said frame and said implement, ahandle supported adjacent each of said posts and moveable on a horizontal axis with respect thereto, a member extending transversely of and secured to said posts, a member pivoted to said first mentioned member and having an arm, and connecting means between said arm and said implement, said handle cooperating with said last mentioned member to move said connecting means to shift said ground working implement laterally.

10. The combination with a tractor having a frame, a carrying wheel and a. motor, of a ground working implement, a plurality of draft means connecting said implement with said tractor said means operating in parallelism, steering posts mounted for ver tical movement with respect to said frame, handles mounted for vertical movement with respect to said posts, and means interthe combination with a frame and carrying wheels therefor, of a pair of relatively fixed steering posts, a handle supported by and relatively movable with respect to each post, a gang bar, means for suspending the gang bar from the posts, and means interposed between the gang bar and said handles operative to shift the gang bar laterally in correspondence with the movement of the handles.

12. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a frame and carrying wheels therefor, of a steering post, a handle supported by and relatively vertically movable with respect to the post, a gang bar supported beneath the post and means interposed between the gang bar and said handle operative to shift the gang bar laterally in correspondence with the movement of said handle.

13. In a cultivator comprising a wheeled frame, a pair of arms secured to said frame and extending rearwardly therefrom, a pair of handle members pivoted to said arms on horizontal pivots and adapted to form guid ing means for said frame when moved laterally to one side or the other, a tool bar, and means connecting said handles and tool bar so that the tool bar will be moved to one side or the other when the said handles are swung vertically on their pivots.

In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands this 24cth day of March, 1920.

CHARLES J. ALLEN. JOSEPH MADER. 

